According to a report by Canadian network TSN, the Hurricanes are close to finalizing a one-year, two-way deal with Patrick O'Sullivan, the first NHL player from North Carolina.
"He will be in Raleigh for a physical, and we are trying to finalize a deal," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday night in a statement relased via Twitter.
O'Sullivan grew up in Winston-Salem while his father John was playing minor-league hockey there, but ended up moving to Michigan and Canada to play youth and junior hockey -- all the while enduring an abusive relationship with his father that would come to light as the 2003 draft approached.
Given the uncertainty over his personal life, O'Sullivan slipped to the second round, where the Minnesota Wild took him 56th overall. He has 54 goals and 149 points in 280 career NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.
As for his North Carolina roots, Winston-Salem was listed as O'Sullivan's official birthplace heading into the 2003 draft, but the NHL has since changed it to Toronto. In either case, he learned to play the game in Winston-Salem before leaving for a better level of competition.
He was briefly a member of the Hurricanes in 2009, arriving from Los Angeles in the Justin Williams trade before the Canes flipped him to Edmonton in the Erik Cole trade.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at (919) 829-8947, @LukeDeCock on Twitter or
Comments
Significance of O'Sullivan Signing
Fri, 09/17/2010 - 08:11 — abramsdougTo me the questions about signing O'Sullivan include:
1. Is O'Sullivan ready to play Hurricanes hockey and to play each shift 100%, with passionate forechecking and backchecking?
2. Is O'Sullivan a sign that Samsonov will be traded or waived? In other words, one could envision O'Sullivan as a younger version of Samsonov - highly skilled offensively and yet to show he can play as solid a two-way game as the Hurricanes style requires;
3. Is O'Sullivan a challenge to LaRose on the first or second lines? O'Sullivan could be a 20 to 25 goal scorer. Does his arrival signal LaRose really is at a career's crossroads and must produce offensively when put on the first or second lines?
4. Is O'Sullivan going to take over the third line center spot - a spot I assumed either Dalpe, Skinner, or even Nash might occupy.
5. Is O'Sullivan a candidate for the fourth line center spot - and thus is he going to challenge Dwyer for playing time, either on the third or second line?
6. Is O'Sullivan's arrival going to challenge Boychuk for time on the second and third lines?
Luke, what is your take on the situation?
First let's see if
Fri, 09/17/2010 - 15:35 — ctillFirst let's see if O'Sullivan is mentally and emotionally ready to play to his potential. Edmonton fans have highly negative reports. Unless O'Sullivan plays better than last season, he'll be in Charlotte quickly.
O'Sullivan
Fri, 09/17/2010 - 23:29 — abramsdougNo doubt about it, if O'Sullivan were to play as badly in Carolina as he did at Edmonton, he'll be shipped to Charlotte. It's up to O'Sullivan. He clearly has the physical skill and talent. Now it's all about what is O'Sullivan's head.
Regarding O'Sullivan's
Thu, 09/16/2010 - 22:42 — imayagainknowantonRegarding O'Sullivan's birthplace: he was born in Toronto but raised in Winston-Salem.
"Where exactly are you from?
It's funny, I'm mentioned from being all over the place - Toronto, Michigan, North Carolina, all over the world - but I am from North Carolina. That's where I grew up, and that's where I live in the summer. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is where I'm from, and that's my hometown.
But you were actually born in Canada.
It's an unfortunate incident but, yeah I was born in Canada. My parents were there and I was born a little early...I stayed there for three days and went back home."
http://web.archive.org/web/20050213235303/www.rinkratmag.com/sully.html